Pressure from corporate sponsors may be the critical factor in a decision by the Boy Scouts of America to change policy to include homosexual scouts, volunteers and leaders.

When a representative from BSA met with Frank Page, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, to discuss the proposed change, Page was told that BSA is "wilting under pressure from some of their corporate sponsors ...," Page explained in a statement to The Christian Post.

The Human Rights Campaign, a pro-gay rights advocacy organization, told BSA's corporate sponsors that it would downgrade their "non-discrimination ratings" if they continued to give money to BSA, according to NBC News.

According to a review of corporate giving to BSA in 2010 conducted last September by The American Independent, 23 of the top 50 corporate foundations gave at least $10,000 to BSA. Those sponsors included Bank of America, Intel, UPS, U.S. Bank, Verizon and Wells Fargo. The largest donation in 2010, $700,000, came from Intel. Some donations were directly from the company. Other donations were through matching funds programs in which company employees choose the charity and the company would match a certain amount for every dollar given by the employee.

The New Jersey Star Ledger reported today, in an editorial supporting the Scouts' decision, that Intel announced last September it would stop donations to the Scouts unless it stopped excluding gays. A month later, pharmaceutical giant Merck followed suit. UPS announced last month that it would no longer give to BSA because of its ban on gay scouts, volunteers and leaders.

The BSA website lists some of their current corporate sponsors, including AT&T, Bass Pro Shops and ExxonMobil.

BSA's national board includes two corporate CEOs -- Randall Stephenson of AT&T and James Turley of Ernst & Young -- who have said they will try to end the ban on gay scouts, volunteers and leaders. Stephenson is supposed to be the board's next chairman.

BSA announced last July that, after conducting a two-year review, it would continue its ban on gay scouts, volunteers and leaders. At the time, the Scouts said that continuing the ban was "absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts."

Last week, though, The Christian Post learned that BSA was considering reversing this decision at its executive meeting in Irving, Texas, next week. The new policy would allow each Boy Scout chapter to decide whether or not to allow gay scouts, volunteers or leaders.

The left will not be satisfied. Even if the Scouts cave the left will insist their corporate sponsors abandon the Scouts. Corporations will comply., fearful of the media and government bureaucrats. The Scout Law (A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent) has no place in a modern, enlightened, secular, socialist society. The government will provide midnight basketball programs for our youth.

This comes from catering to corporate executives on the boards of directors. Liberal ones love getting on boards of organizations like the Boy Scouts and undermining them from within.

The Pittsburgh council had an anti-Christian one join their board shortly before the spokesman went on local Christian radio to beg for public support. I called him out on it and his response was that he didnt know how I found out who was on the board of directors.

The Human Rights Campaign, a pro-gay rights advocacy organization, told BSA's corporate sponsors that it would downgrade their "non-discrimination ratings" if they continued to give money to BSA, according to NBC News.

That's all it took? We need a competing organization to tar those corporate sponsor's as supporters of pedophilia and perversion. Attackers of defenseless children. Make it loud and very public. A good offense is better than tossing in the towel.

When I worked for Lockheed Martin, they pushed donations to their charity, United Way. I refused to give one penny to them and one time was so bad that my manager called me in and told me to donate or he wouldn’t get his bonus. And that manager was a real jerk and I refused after he made the demands.

If our side like talk radio actually had balls take note hannity and they mentioned this as it started then the public would have stopped these commie socialist homo crap but alas our side are cowards who can only talk about debt and healthcare and to hell with our children.

Will hannity now get on this as will others and will they mention which companies need boycotting , nah course not the coward fool some conservatives and keep taking money whilst being all nice and cozy with the likes of beckel

Exactly what I’ve just said. If our side has guts then this would have been mentioned , the companies would get mentioned on tv on radio in thr paper on most sites from our side and millions would know aboutthis and would call these companies before this agenda would hav got even near the debate of marriage let alone letting homosexuals near kids so they can get access to little boys

I will no longer continue my support to the BSA with this change in policy. I wonder how the oath will be rewritten, remove the phrase “morally straight” and the scout law will have to remove “reverent”.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.